Benefactor from Parfums d'Armando Martinez: fragrance review

There is an underappreciated quality when judging perfume, especially among people who love it. That quality is wearability.
It might sound like a dirty word when every other fragrance release from the major companies is akin to putting on a mass-marketed piece of clothing that is being produced in Bangladesh, bearing the insignia of a well-known commercial designer no less. But I assure you that wearability is much more than what meets the eye. It is precisely this quality, often elusive in the niche arena of scents, that accounts for the success of Armando Martinez's perfumes.

From his first foray into Perfume Shrine with the powdery rose and violet honeyed tones of Maquillage, to his masterpiece aldehydic, pearly white floral Pillow of Flowers, Armando has been playing with good quality natural ingredients and aromachemicals that are blended in an ultimate caress of softness and plushness that would never alienate the lover of pleasant aromas. His creations do not lack uniqueness and to wit one could very well mention the mould-breaking herbal Satyr which is certainly different and stranger than most similar attempts on the market. Yet even then, there is a base element that ties loose ends with a pacifying tone like a familiar lullaby one has been carrying in one's mind since childhood.

And it is in this context that Armando's latest fragrance, a shared scent that can be worn by both sexes, Benefactor, is entering the scene; a glimpse of Salome's veils for the delectation of oriental lovers everywhere.

"Benefactor, a scent that envelopes the wearer in a cloak of roses, vanilla and agarwood. A modern take on the age old arabic perfume. An oriental that is unisex.
Benefactor's notes include: bergamot, camphor, turkish rose, saffron, vetiver, atlas cedarwood, vanilla, and agarwood".

(quote from Armando Martinez site).

Although a camphoric opening might predispose one for The Agony and the Ecstasy of none other than the perverse beauty of Tubereuse Criminelle by Lutens or even his equally strange yet lovely Borneo, in Benefactor the effect is subdued and short-lived enough to not jolt you into shock, yet challenge the nostrils with its peculiar aroma paired with a little culinary saffron, that spice that colours Middle Eastern dishes with its rich golden hues. As the camphoric note dissipates, a sweet and powdery rosiness like that in loukhoums emerges swan-down like from the mélange of notes with a little vanillic underscoring. At this stage the cosiness and softness is eminently beautiful without ever becoming insipid, with agarwood/oudh, that weird wood also appearing in the comparable Black Aoudh by Montale, so prized in arabian perfumery, playing the role of basso continuo all the while; providing the austere backdrop that veers the whole into the unisex universe of scents.
A simple composition that never loses its charm, it has the benefit of making one feel at once warm, cuddly and familiar with just the right touch of opulence, daydreaming of a harem in the Arabian Nights.

If interested in purchasing a 2 ounce spray bottle or requesting samples, Mando is charging $65.00 a bottle for each of his creations, directly from his site: Click here.
They are currently for sale also in Europe on First in Fragrance/Aus liebe zum Duft website. Click here for details.

Painting of Harem comes from travelinstyle.com

Pillow of flowers by A.Martinez: fragrance review

To encounter perfumes that are vaguely inspired by masterful creations is one thing. To actually sample them to find out that they have a wonderful character of their own is another and it was that latter pleasant discovery that enthralled me recently when I sampled the latest creation by Armando Martinez, a fledging Nevada niche perfumer who is working with a great appreciation for the classics of long ago in his heart and a steady hand in dosage and composing in his creations. Since here at Perfume Shrine we like to give everyone talented an opportunity to get their message across and not just those who send out press releases and free bottles for the plucking, it was only natural that our interest was piqued by his newest release.
His first scent Maquillage which had been duly reviewed here on Perfume Shrine some time ago was a very successful rendition of that elusive and glamorous girly stuff that we put on our faces (and decadent décolletage sometimes) face powder: the old fashioned kind in the exquisitely gilded compacts applied with the great puffs of swan down in great big gusts like silver screen sirens used to. The imagery of a modern day Veronica Lake or Jean Harlow in her boudoir powdering herself was evoked by the delicate rosy undertone of Maquillage luring us into glimpsing the hidden aspect of the feminine mystique at its scheming stages.
Now comes Pillow of Flowers to evoke a less conniving aspect of the feminine process, none the less alluring though and with an added peel of complexity to make us delve a little deeper into Armando’s Martinez psyche and unearth images of glamorous ladies that have impressed him with their elegance and élan.

Armando admits that the inspiration behind Pillow of Flowers was the great aldehydic fragrance by Ernest Beaux, that Russian émigré working for Chanel, no.22.
An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a terminal carbonyl group, i.e., a O=CH- group attached to hydrogen or a carbon chain. This functional group, which consists of a carbon atom bonded to a hydrogen atom and double-bonded to an oxygen atom (chemical formula -CHO), is called the aldehyde group. They basically appear as strings of Carbon atoms that are named after the amount of the latter they contain.
Since they are organic matter, organic material may have them such as plants and in fact many do. But the aldehydes in perfumery are manufactured, in the lab. They were among the first synthetic ingredients used, most notably in the iconic Chanel no.5. Those with an interest in them can read more clicking here and here.

Chanel No22 shines like a lustrous moonstone with a touch of platinum mounting, illuminating the night with its mysterious and uplifting qualities and transporting the wearer to an era of flappers wearing long strings of pearls and bobbing their hair a la Fitzerald.

With such an ambitious prototype Armando put all his art into weaving chiffon-like textures into the manipulation of white florals such as jasmine, orchid, ylang ylang and tuberose along with the opulence of various kinds of rose (damascena and centifolia) and cassie (acacia farnesiana, that yellow pom-pom blossom) rendering a rich impression of being buried in an armload of blossoms. Synthesized notes of lilac and lily of the valley are also present, following the freshness of initial top note of bergamot and neroli (which do not appear flamboyantly but instead quickly leave the limelight to the real protagonists, the florals). The whole is lucidly balanced and supported by a lingering sparkling base containing aldehyde C11, an unusual touch in the base of a fragrance, contrary to the common perception that aldehydes are only top notes adding fizz like the bubbles of Veuve Cliquot; just a hint since it is quite a potent smell by itself. Armando is using his restrained hand to instil just a smidgeon, paired with the lightest touch of frankincense, which accounts for a retro feel that is eminently admirable without ever smelling obsolete. A clean element like French triple-milled soap is also responsible for the light feel it gives upon drying down which adds to the beauty of the whole, featuring light notes of vanilla and opoponax.
The slightly powdery bases that Armando Martinez uses are always soft and cuddly and remind one of the comfort of soft materials worn on bare flesh. This one lingers quite seductively without losing its core message which is one of nostalgia for a bygone era of great style.
In a market inundated with same old same old, this fragrance is cutting a quiet dash with its mesmerising elegance and its satiny façade that reveals the woman behind the perfume and not the other way around.
I am very eager to try out everything new this wunderkid is trying to accomplish next and wish him success upon his forthcoming presentation in premier site First in Fragrance.

The Pillow of Flowers fragrance notes are:
neroli, bergamot, jasmine, tuberose, roses (multi-varieties), lily of the valley, lilac, orchid, cassie, vanilla, vetiver, frankincense, opoponax and aldehydes (the magical component of the creation).

This scent comes in a 2 ounces (60ml) size Eau de Parfum spray bottle, lovingly put together for you upon request.

Purchase price: $65.00 a bottle
Perfumes by Armando Martinez can be purchased or sampled by contacting him through his blog Parfums d'Armando Martinez or by mailing him at mandocmartinez@yahoo.com.

I am sure you will be in for a great pleasant surprise. I assure you that no one will be smelling quite as lovely as you will.

Pic comes from film "Pillowtalk" with Doris Day.

Maquillage: the sweet scent of makeup

It’s always so gratifying to get samples from less known perfumers who put their heart into their perfume instead of marketing analysis and assorted research and development findings. Such is the case with Maquillage, the very likeable scent by amateur perfumer Armando Martinez. Over the few months I have been writing my blog, people have been asking me to review perfumes for their reading enjoyment, reviews that maybe they wouldn't see in any other perfume blog in some cases as the perfumes were not known and the sources were obscure and did not list notes. It has been my joy and pride to do so for them. This however is not such a case. In fact I was the one who asked tentatively if I could sample this perfume when I heard about it and Armando obligingly sent a sample along.

Armando has been dabbling with oils and essences and some synthetic aromatic materials as a hobby for a long time, being interested in the magical world of perfume for years. The scented memories of his life have been fodder for his experiments and his love for the vintage masterpieces of yesterday such as My Sin, Scandal, Tabac Blond or Shocking de Schiaparelli has not been eclipsed by his ardent love for all things nouveau niche such as Lutens’ Ambre Sultan, Chergui or Bond no.9 New Haarlem.

His fragrance for women was baptized Maquillage from the French word for makeup and is redolent of his love for perfume in general. In an early first effort that was a homage to Jean Paul Gaultier's Classique, sweet scent of femininty trapped in the torso bottle that has in turn been inspired in looks by Shocking, Armando has captured the essence of a lady’s makeup paraphernalia and more prominently the aroma of face powder and satin cream lipstick in old bullet-style packaging. Oh, so elegant and glamorous, the times of bygones brought back with a nonchalant flick of the puff.

As I picked up the little bottle with the clear and oily liquid sample of the perfume my mind strayed into the avenue of a reminiscence of my own. I thought about the glamour of my grandmother’s trousse de toilette, all gold gilded bottles, often brought back from Paris. This was one hell of a glamorous grandma who used to order her clothes to the best tailors in town and her evening gowns to French ateliers, lavishing Madame Rochas and Miss Dior parfum with elegant gusto on her unstoppable person.

Maquillage would fit such a person. It begins its soft glamorous and nostalgic journey on a very soft, citrusy, bright and lightly sweet rose and honey note that is soon aligned to the candied scent of violet. Such a combination has a very feminine and cuddly smell, redolent of the mood that L’artisan’s Drole de Rose recalls. Frederic Malle’s Lipstick Rose is another rose-violet combo that could be referenced, and yet, Maquillage is not as sweet neither is it as penetrating making it infinitely more wearable in my opinion (because I prefer more subtle florals); although its great flaw is the lack of staying power compared with the monstrous tenacity of Lipstick Rose. The fact that Maquillage has a slightly oily texture indicates that it is not a lack of the proper aromatic materials, as I generally perceive this as a good sign, but maybe a matter of dilution which needs to be lower.
The drydown phase after about 20 minutes on my skin is a very soft musky powdery affair of the amorous pairing of iris and musk of a synthetic nature that warms up the whole, making it soft and pretty, with the merest touch of vanillic nature, just enough to render it charming and winsome.

The official notes are: lemon, lime, linden, honey, peach, rose, jasmine, violet, musk, iris, vanilla.

For a first foray into perfume, Maquillage is a very nice composition that would certainly benefit from an eau de parfum concentration. I think there is the promise of a bright future ahead of Armando Martinez if he wants to pursue it!

You can ask info and order samples of Maquillage directly from Armando by emailing at mandocmartinez@yahoo.com or on the First in Fragrance/ Aus Liebe zum Duft site.


Photo by Spyros Panayiotopoulos (courtesy of eikastikon)